The term netizen is a portmanteau of the English words internet and citizen,[1] as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen."[2][3][4] It describes a person[5] actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.[6][7]

The term also commonly implies an interest and active engagement in improving the internet, making it an intellectual and a social resource,[5] or its surrounding political structures, especially in regard to open access, net neutrality and free speech.[8] The term was widely adopted in the mid-1990s as a way to describe those who inhabit the new geography of the internet.[9] Internet pioneer and author Michael F. Hauben is credited with coining and popularizing the term.[5][10][11][12][13]

Determining factor

In general, any individual who has access to the internet has the potential to be classified as a netizen. In the 21st century, this is made possible by the global connectivity of the internet. People can physically be located in one country but connected to most of the world via a global network.[12]

There is a clear distinction between netizens and people who come online to use the internet. A netizen is described as an individual who actively seeks to contribute to the development of the internet.[14] Netizens are not individuals who go online for personal gain or profit, but instead actively seeks to make the internet a better place.[15][12]

A term used to classify internet users who do not actively contribute to the development of the internet is "lurker". Lurkers cannot be classified as netizens, as although they do not actively harm the internet, they do not contribute either.[16][17][18]

Besides, lurkers seemed to be more critical of the technological elements enabling communities whereas posters appeared to be more critical of users who hampered community creation by making rude or unpleasant comments. Additionally, discussions indicate that both lurkers and posters had distinct motives for lurking and might modify their engagement behaviours based on how they understand the community from various online groups, despite the fact that engagement between those who post and those who lurk was different in the communities studied.[19]

In China

See also: Internet in China

In Mandarin Chinese, the terms wǎngmín (traditional Chinese: 網民; simplified Chinese: 网民, literally "netizen" or "net folks") and wǎngyǒu (traditional Chinese: 網友; simplified Chinese: 网友, literally "net friend" or "net mate") are commonly used terms meaning "internet users", and the English word netizen is used by mainland China-based English language media to translate both terms, resulting in the frequent appearance of that English word in media reporting about China, far more frequently than the use of the word in other contexts.[20][21]

Netizen Prize

Main article: Reporters Without Borders#Netizen Prize

The international nonprofit organisation Reporters Without Borders awards an annual Netizen Prize in recognition to an internet user, blogger, cyber-dissident, or group who has helped to promote freedom of expression on the internet.[22][23][24]

See also

References

  1. ^ Tyler Vendetti (3 March 2020). The Illustrated Compendium of Weirdly Specific Words: Including Bumbledom, Jumentous, Spaghettification, and More. Simon and Schuster. pp. 70–. ISBN 978-1-73251-266-5. Archived May 7, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  2. ^ Seese, Michael (2009). Scrappy Information Security. Happy About. p. 130. ISBN 978-1600051326. Archived September 5, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  3. ^ Hauben, Michael. "The Expanding Commonwealth of Learning: Printing and the Net". columbia.edu. Archived May 1, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  4. ^ Hauben, Michael F. (24 November 1995). "The Netizens and Community Networks - Presented at the Hypernetwork '95 Beppu Bay Conference". Archived October 9, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  5. ^ DeLoach, Amelia (September 1996). "What Does it Mean to be a Netizen?". Archived January 11, 1997 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  6. ^ netizen Archived April 21, 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Dictionary.com
  7. ^ The Net and Netizens by Michael Hauben Archived June 4, 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Columbia University.
  8. ^ "What is netizen? definition". Archived April 29, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  9. ^ Thompson, Steven John (April 30, 2014). Global Issues and Ethical Considerations in Human Enhancement Technologies. IGI Global. p. 4. ISBN 978-1466660106. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  10. ^ Butler, Simon. "Michael F. Hauben". c250.columbia.edu. Archived August 14, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  11. ^ Hauben, Ronda. "Internet PIONEER Michael Hauben". edu-cyberpg.com. Archived January 22, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  12. ^ Horvath, John (27 July 2001). "Death of a Netizen". Heise Online. Archived September 24, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  13. ^ Orlowski, Andrew (30 June 2001). "Michael Hauben, Netizen mati, dies". The Register. Archived August 10, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  14. ^ "What is a Netizen?". Easy Tech Junkie. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  15. ^ Hauben, Michael & Hauben, Ronda (May 11, 1997). "Preface: What is a Netizen". Netizens: On the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet. Wiley. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-0-8186-7706-9. Archived February 12, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  16. ^ DeLoach, Amelia (September 1996). "What is a Netizen?". Archived July 10, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  17. ^ "The need for a Netizens Association". March 1996. Archived September 24, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  18. ^ Hauben, Michael & Hauben, Ronda (November 1995). "What is a Netizen?". First Monday. doi:10.5210/fm.v3i7.606. Archived July 9, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  19. ^ Zhu, Jiawen & Dawson, Kara (2023-04-05). "Differences in sense of community and participation between lurkers and posters in informal online education-related communities". Behaviour & Information Technology. 43 (5): 929–942. doi:10.1080/0144929x.2023.2196571. ISSN 0144-929X. S2CID 257993277
  20. ^ Brian Fung, "'Netizen': Why Is This Goofy-Sounding Word So Important in China? Archived November 16, 2017 at the Wayback Machine", The Atlantic, 11 October 2012
  21. ^ Matt Schiavenza, "Enough with the word "Netizen" Archived July 29, 2018 at the Wayback Machine", The Atlantic, 25 September 2013
  22. ^ "World Day Against Cyber-Censorship: new "Enemies of the Internet" list". rsf.org. 11 March 2011. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  23. ^ "Netizen Prize 2012: nominees". 27 February 2012. Archived from the original on 21 April 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  24. ^ Manea, Elham (5 November 2014). "Reporters Without Borders award Raif Badawi the Netizen Prize for 2014". gmablog.org. Archived February 15, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  25. ^ Mossberger, Karen. "Digital Citizenship - The Internet, Society and Participation" by Karen Mossberger, Caroline J. Tolbert, and Ramona S. McNeal. 23 November 2011. ISBN 978-0819456069

Further reading